Showing Up The Past
by SeveralSunlitDays7
Summary: Harry is invited to a reunion at the school he went to before he found out he was a wizard. With his beautiful wife at his side, does he manage to forget the lonely memories of the school, and show them all the man he has become? COMPLETE


a/n: had this floating in my head for ages... sorry! I'll get back to New Beginnings, dont worry!

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><p>Harry Potter was cooking bacon and eggs when his heard his wife clomping down the stairs, before she entered the kitchen.<p>

Ginny yawned. "Why on earth are you ups so early?" She rubbed the back of her hands across her eyes. "It's a Saturday," she moaned.

"Couldn't sleep," shrugged Harry.

Ginny pattered over to him and wrapped him in a hug from behind. She brushed a hand through his hair, smoothing his fringe back from his face. "It's that case in Elephant and Castle, isn't it?"

Harry nodded, closing his eyes briefly, leaning into Ginny's hands. Over the past few weeks, some horrifying murders had turned up all around the country, all with the Dark Mark floating over the houses. Harry and his team of Aurors had eventually tracked the Death Eaters to Elephant and Castle, but the cost had not been easy. Most of the Death Eaters had preferred to die fighting, and they took out several Aurors before they could be stopped.

Harry finished frying the eggs, and put them out with the bacon on five plates. It wasn't long until the Potter boys made their way to the kitchen, James and Albus aged five and four, respectively. Ginny left briefly to bring down two year old Lily.

At this moment in time, breakfast was a family affair, none of the children old enough to be left alone for too long.

Harry set the plates down in front of his family and smiled as he watched Lily struggle to fork the small pieces of food into her mouth, waiting eagerly for her mother to cut up more pieces.

The Potters were perhaps three-quarters of the way through their meal when there was an unusual noise from the front hallway. Harry stood up from the table abruptly, and headed cautiously towards the source of the noise, wand out.

He laughed aloud when he realised how silly he was. Sitting just in front of the front door was a letter, obviously delivered by a postman, inserted through the slot in the door. It was such an unusual noise; it wasn't often that he received mail the Muggle way.

"What is it?" called Ginny from the kitchen.

"It's just some Muggle post!" He responded.

"Well don't just stand there and read it, bring it back in, you prat!"

Harry chuckled when he heard James start to sing softly "prat, prat, prat. Prat prat..." and when Ginny responded by muttering a string of unintelligible curses.

He turned the envelope around in his hands. It was small and neat. On the front, the house address was printed in blue ink, with a single, neat stamp in the top right corner. _Definitely not from a wizard_, Harry decided.

On the back was the return address. From a Little Whinging Primary School.

Harry frowned. That was where he had been educated before he had found out he was a wizard, before his eleventh birthday.

He carefully tore open the envelope and sat back down at the table with his family, quite oblivious as Lily skilfully flicked a piece of egg at James. James screeched at his younger sister, and Ginny hurriedly threw a shield charm between the two siblings, James now feebly attempting to pull at Lily's hair, although the shield protected her.

"What is it, Harry? And could you please stop those two?" Ginny added desperately.

"Hmm?" Harry glanced up, and it was only then he noticed the battle at the table. He swung back out of his chair, and pulled James out of his chair, lifting him as high as he could.

"Dad! What are you doing?" James screamed, kicking his legs about.

Harry laughed. "Playing with you of course!" he blew a raspberry at James, and soon his son was giggling along, battle with his sister long forgotten. He settled back in to finish his breakfast, and Harry gave a stern glance to his cackling two year old daughter.

Harry sat down and finally opened his letter.

"What's that, Harry?" asked Ginny.

Harry frowned. "It seems to be for a 20 year primary school reunion."

"You mean, at that Muggle school you went to before Hogwarts?"

"Yeah," said Harry.

"Muggle," said Lily suddenly.

"Yes, Lily." Said Ginny gently, "that's what we call non-magical people."

Lily grinned a big, toothy grin. "Muggle, muggle, muggle," she chanted, bouncing in her chair and clapping her hands.

"Well do you think you'll go?" asked Ginny.

Harry chewed his lip, thinking.

"You know you want to," Ginny cajoled, "You want to show them the man that that scrawny, specky git turned into, and show off his beautiful wife," Ginny grinned.

"Hmm, I suppose I could go to show off my beautiful wife..." mused Harry.

"When is it?"

"In two weeks, two Saturdays from now."

"Excellent!" said Ginny. "Ron and Hermione can look after the kids; it's about time they did their share of babysitting. We should make them pay."

Harry groaned good naturedly.

The two weeks passed quickly, and all too soon, Harry and Ginny had dropped off the kids with their cousins, and had Apparated a block away from Little Whinging Primary School.

It was dark, and the streets were lined with bare Jacaranda trees. There were many cars parked in the street, obviously their owners had made their way to the brightly lit school.

Harry could feel butterflies in his stomach, and he clutched Ginny's hand tightly. He had had no friends at this school, Dudley had scared everyone away. It was here where most of the bullying from Dudley had occurred, and it was here that Harry had had many of his occurrences of accidental magic.

The couple strolled up to the front entrance of the gym, where there was a small line of guests waiting to go inside.

When Harry and Ginny reached the entrance, he was confronted with his old Grade 4 teacher, Mrs Roslyn.

Mrs Roslyn had aged considerably over the years; she now squinted through a thick pair of glasses, and was hunched under her dark purple shawl. Her white her was curled into a bun at the back of her head. "Name?" she barked.

"Er, Harry Potter," said Harry nervously.

"Harry Potter? Is it really? By gosh you've changed! And who is this lovely lady on your arm then?"

Ginny stepped forwards to introduce herself, holding her hand out to the old teacher. "Ginny Potter," she smiled.

Mrs Roslyn took Ginny's hand, but her eyes swivelled back to Harry. "Married, are you, boy? You've done a good job here! Where was it that you went to high school?"

"Er – "

Harry was saved an answer by the call of someone else waiting in the line up, eager to get into the warm gym. "Hurry it along there, it's bloody freezing out here, you old bat!"

Mrs Roslyn pursed her mouth into a thin line, and slapped a name tag on both Harry and Ginny. She ushered them in, and Harry was suddenly met with the full blazing lights of the gym.

Inside, there were perhaps a hundred people there. There had been around sixty students in Harry's grade, so he assumed many were the partner's or wives or husbands of his fellow ex-pupils.

The walls of the gym were covered in green and yellow streamers and balloons, the school colours. At the back of the gym was a small stage, where a power point of school photos was running through. There were tables covered in pretty table cloths and matching name tags, waiting for people to sit down for dinner.

Harry looked around for faces he knew: he barely recognised anyone. He figured it would be easier just to find his table. He dragged Ginny through the crowd, ignoring the odd occasion where his name was called out, often in astonishment.

His table was seated for eight people. When he arrived, he found his cousin already sitting in one of the seats, holding hands with a woman who was obviously his partner.

"Dudley!" exclaimed Harry, surprised.

Dudley looked up, his face brightening the moment he saw Harry. "Long time no see!" He grinned.

The woman sitting next to Dudley smiled faintly at Harry and Ginny. She was quite thin, with dark hair curled neatly at the nape of her neck. She was tanned, and was wearing a stunning red dress that complimented her figure.

Dudley stood up to introduce his companion. "Harry, this is Angelique. I told you about her in my last Christmas card, she's my fiancée now," said Dudley proudly.

"Congratulations, Big D," said Harry, "You remember Ginny?"

"Yeah," said Dudley, "Haven't seen you since your wedding, though. You look well."

"Thanks," said Ginny.

And it was true, Ginny looked stunning. She wore a floor length midnight-blue dress, that seemed to sparkle like the night sky. In fact, Harry realised, it might just actually be doing that. Ginny was known for her individuality. Her red hair was curled softly, and hung in waves down her back.

At that moment, the rest of the table's occupants arrived.

Dudley introduced one of two of the men and women. He shuffled awkwardly as he reintroduced Piers Polkiss to Harry, and Harry merely replied with an awkward nod of his head.

"My God, Harry Potter?"

Harry turned to see who had spoken. Standing before him was a tall, icily beautiful woman, in an ice-blue dress, her blond hair falling past her shoulders. "Valerie," he said stiffly.

"Harry," Valerie practically fluttered, "My how you've changed, look at you! No longer a scrawny little boy with glasses and baggy clothes! Although you seem to have the same glasses..." she mused, "last I heard, you were at St Brutus's! You definitely don't look like a criminal!" she gave a tinkling laugh that set Harry's teeth on edge.

The group moved to sit down at the table. Harry pulled out Ginny's chair for her, before sitting beside her. A woman moving to sit opposite of Harry sighed. Angelique smiled at Ginny.

"Yes, I've definitely come out of St Brutus's all reformed," Harry smiled tightly.

Dudley fidgeted in his seat, obviously uncomfortable with the lie.

"Do tell me," said Valerie, placing a flirtatious hand on Harry's arm, not even noticing Ginny, "What _have_ you been doing all these years?"

Valerie's date looked slightly irritable with being ignored, but he seemed used to the situation. The other guests at the table look slightly nauseated, as many had observed Harry and Ginny, but were also obviously used to Valerie.

"Er," said Harry, glancing at Ginny. Ginny smiled politely at Valerie, but Harry could see the sparks in her eyes, as well as the mischief.

"My _husband_," said Ginny, leaning forward, "is a General in the British Army and works for the Ministry of Defence." She lied smoothly.

Dudley looked at Harry, and nodded to himself as he seemed to understand the lie.

For the first time, Valerie noticed Ginny's presence. She looked surprised, and disappointed. "Your husband? Do tell. How long have you been married?"

"Ten years," said Harry softly.

The whole table gasped. "But, you how old were you when you married? You must have been only 20!" exclaimed the woman opposite Harry.

"It was a lovely wedding," Dudley cut in, "I haven't seen anything more... magical... in my entire life." Dudley smirked at Harry, and Harry replied in kind.

"Yeah, we were 20," said Harry, "and now we have three beautiful children."

"Children?" Valerie gasped, looking faint.

"Yes. James, Albus and Lily." Said Ginny proudly.

"Albus? That's an odd name," said a man next to Dudley, frowning.

"I named him after my mentor, who passed away when I was 16," Harry explained.

Again, Dudley glanced at Harry. Although he and his cousin communicated on an irregular basis, Dudley did not know much of what had happened before they had first met up a few months before the wedding. He did not know much of what had happened during the war, nor before they were taken away with Dedalus Diggle and Hestia Jones. But Dudley knew the name. Albus Dumbledore.

The woman opposite Harry sighed again. She seemed to be a bit of a romanticist. Harry suddenly recognised her, although it had taken so long. Her hair was shorter, and died brown from its original blond. Her blue eyes remained astute as ever. Her name was Heather.

"So where do you work, Ginny?" asked Heather.

"I, er, I write a sports column in the _Daily Telegraph_."

"Really?" asked Valerie, "I've certainly never seen your name there." She raised a perfectly manicured hand to her cheek in an image of surprise.

"She writes under an alias," Harry broke in, "so there's less publicity, you know."

Valerie stared at Ginny appraisingly, unsure of what to make of her.

Dinner was soon served, and the table was silent for a while, as everyone tucked into dishes such as chicken parmigiana or beef casserole.

Soon after dinner was the time for speeches from ex-students and teachers. Harry tried to listen as various adults who had bullied him as children told about their lives, how successful they were, how unsuccessful. Harry was surprised when Valerie got up, her pale dress seeming to reflect the lights.

"My, what a long time it's been, and I'm sure we've all made so many memories since we were cramped up in this lovely school," Valerie positively beamed. "One of my highlights here at this school was when I was perhaps eight years old, and I was partnered with Harry Potter for painting. We got along swimmingly, and we both ended up getting covered in so much paint the teachers had no idea what to do with us!"

Valerie gave her high, girlish laugh, so fake no one believed it.

"I'm sure, given the chance to catch up with all us chums, we would find he is still just as willing to play dirty, and we could all see the man he has become. What say you, Harry darling?"

She gave a large, flirty wink, and half the hall gave a quiet gasp at her outright boldness.

Harry sat stiffly next to his wife, a dull flush settling on her cheeks. To most, Ginny looked calm and polite, but she was steadily tearing up a napkin into tiny pieces in her lap, where no one could see.

Harry leaned over to her and placed a chaste kiss on her cheek. She smiled slightly, and met his lips. Harry's hands met hers under the table, and stilled her hands from their task. Harry moved his mouth to her ear, and whispered softly, for all intent the anxious lover, "That day when we were partnered together, she pushed me onto the painting then tipped the paint pots all over me. You're the only one I play dirty with," he smirked, before pulling away from her.

Ginny smiled at him. A knot came undone in her chest. Of course she knew he wasn't that sort of person, but it was reassuring. Ginny began to plan her revenge on the obnoxious blonde.

Mrs Roslyn got up on stage after Valerie, and said with a smile, "Well it looks like she hasn't changed in 20 years."

The gym filled with laughter.

"Now I taught for a very long time, and have only recently retired. From what I can see from the people sitting before me, is that so many of you have grown into yourselves, many have changed, for the better or worse, I don't know. What I remember was a bunch of scraggly 10 year olds, causing ruckus and starting fights, and most of you were a downright pain in my behind."

"But you've all grown up, I can see some of you still strive to annoy your old teachers, but many of us can see what the amazing men and women you all turned into, some of you defying the odds against you, some of you reaching only for the stars placed in front of you. Now unless there are any more speeches...?"

The room was silent for a moment, and suddenly, Ginny stood up.

"Ginny..." muttered Harry. Ginny scruffed his hair and began walking to the stage. All eyes were on her, and Ginny obviously flaunted it, swaying her hips ever so slightly. As she reached the stage, she turned around and winked at Harry, the familiar fire in her eyes.

She took the microphone from the confused Mrs Roslyn.

Ginny pushed some hair back from her face, tucking it behind her ear. She glanced nervously at Harry, but Harry could see she was anything but nervous.

"Hello," she spoke, "none of you know me, but I'm Ginny Potter, wife of Harry Potter. I thought I would come up and tell our story, because he didn't want to." She smiled slightly, and the crowd gave an appreciative chuckle.

"After Harry left this school, some of you may be aware that he went to St Brutus's. That was where he met my brother, his best friend. I went to a school down the road, and over the years I developed a friendship with Harry. It wasn't until his second to last year that we got together, and it was after we had won a... inter-house... football match."

Here she paused, sweeping her hair behind her ear again for dramatic effect. She looked to Harry. "He snogged me in front of half the school."

Harry blushed and the crowd sighed, hooked on every word Ginny said. The teachers seemed a bit disgruntled with the abrupt honesty of the statement, but let it pass.

"We were together for only a few months, and then he was shipped off to war, and we didn't see each other for a year. He watched many of his friends die, and afterwards, he came back to me. He was promoted to a higher rank, and was asked to work in the... Ministry of Defence."

"When I left school, I played... women's cricket... on a national level. We stayed together, got married when we were 20, and when I was pregnant with my first child, I became a newspaper columnist. We celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary this year with our three children and have never been happier."

Ginny paused again. "So, I guess what I'm trying to say, is that Harry and I have been through a lot together, to the end of the world and back, and we've never been stronger. We've been through war, and peace, and publicity stunts, and I can never be more proud to be Mrs Harry Potter."

Ginny smirked at Valerie. "Sorry Valerie, but he only plays dirty with me."

And with that, she handed the microphone back, and left the stage to a loud round of applause. She reached Harry, and he was suddenly reminded of when they first got together.

Ginny pulled him up out of his seat, wrapped her arms around his head, and proceeded to snog him silly.

Harry's arms flailed for a moment, before relaxing around her waist. He may as well go along with her, she was too stubborn anyway.

A wolf whistle suddenly sounded, and they pulled apart, identical dopey grins plastered on their faces.

"If you don't mind," said Harry, "But I think we'll call it a night. Talk to you later Dudley..."

Dudley nodded his assent, and Harry got a brief glance at Valerie before his wife whisked him away. She looked like she had eaten something sour.

As the couple walked out the room, heads held high, Ginny heard a woman murmur, "Why don't you kiss me like that anymore? They've been married twice as long as us!" and a subsequent grunt of pain as the recipient was kicked in the leg under the table.

They reached the door, and Mrs Roslyn gave the pair a secretive wink, before ushering them out.

They walked a safe distance, then Apparated home, to continue where they left off.

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><p>Reviews? :D<p> 


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